Qtz crystals causing "seismoluminescence", the Madrid quake

Due to the thick layer of contiguous solid bedrock close to the surface under the eastern US tremors and shock waves travel long distances transmitting their energy well Brent. Said shallow bedrock is the target for high rise building foundations. In Atlanta they will dig 30 to 50 feet of clay out of a foundation hole and set the high rise directly on the granite bedrock.
This certainly prevents settling but makes the tall buildings vulnerable to horizontally born shock waves.

That had to be a truly unforgettable experience for you guys.
The lights must have been substantial for them to be noticed in the midst of the excitement of the quake.

The ice storm of 1973 at Atlanta Ga. lit up the skies in colors throughout the spectrum due to pole and large substation mounted transformers exploding throughout the night. Modern earthquakes could be responsible for similar. But there were few utilities in 1811 during the New Madrid quake yet these sightings were reported even from long distances:

Lights caused by the 1811/12 New Madrid quake before utilities:

"The stronger shocks were followed by black clouds or darkness from the “smoke”, “fog”, or “vapor” that took hours to clear. The darkness was likely dust from the land slides and collapsed structures. Water vapor released from the ground condensed in the cold winter atmosphere creating an “earthquake fog”.

One of the most mysterious and disputed claims related to the New Madrid quakes was from several reputable witnesses who saw lightning-like flashes and glows in the sky that directly accompanied the quakes. One person in New Madrid reported sparks emitted from the earth. (For more on earthquake lights, see this post.) William Pierce, who wrote letters to the New York Evening Post reporting back from his journey along the Mississippi said that “an electric flash ran along the surface tearing the earth to pieces in its progress”.

Flashes and a glowing sky were also seen from those in distant cities. The atmosphere was said to be luminous across the entire sky at night even though there was no moon. Red clouds were seen in South Carolina immediately before the Dec 16 quake. In North Carolina, people reported long-lasting sky glow that they thought was the result of large fires. Loud thunder accompanied the glow. A report from ships in the tropics noted aurora-like glows in the sky one night. Later, they correlated that observation to the time of a quake. Scientists historically dismissed these reports of lights by assuming they were related to the dust and water vapor emitted along the fault, thunderstorms, or regular atmospheric magnetic disturbances. But the curious possibility remains that earthquake lights may have manifested from the ground or in the atmosphere resulting from the fault movements."

Oddly Tecumseh's Comet showed itself in the skies for 260 days during the 5 month period of Madrid quakes and tremors.

Earthquakes are interesting but also very scary. The Northridge quake seemed to rumble on for a good minute or so. It seemed like an eternity. The lights went out almost immediately, leaving the eerie flashes of light outside as the only intermittent illumination. I tried to get out of the bedroom to see if there was any damage and it was like walking on moving basketballs.

But the worst were the aftershocks, and not knowing whether the Big One was yet to come. I tried to get a little sleep but was awakened frequently by tremors. The next morning I was sitting at the kitchen table when a big aftershock slammed he house. I think it was a little over 5 on the Richter Scale. I watched the kitchen cupboard move out at least a foot from its normal position. But not a single dish was broken or moved from its place; it all moved as a unit.

Some years earlier we lived near Pismo Beach, just across the bay from the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. There was an elaborate system of warning sirens set up to warn residents of any nuclear accident. When the big Loma Prieta quake hit the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989 we felt one big shock even though we were many miles away. We had guests and we took them to an early dinner at one of the local restaurants. While dining, the Diablo sirens all began to wail. I felt certain it was earthquake-related. I also knew that if it was a Diablo accident we were probably already goners, given the short distance from the plant and prevailing winds. Our guests were terrified and I was unable to reassure them. It made for a difficult social situation.

We were later relieved to learn that the incident was, indeed, related to the quake. But we were reminded just how thin the dividing line is between normal, happy, daily life and disaster.

never knew about these events

Electricity and Magnetism are opposite sides of the same coin. You can't have one without the other.



Remember the Right Hand Rule.




What causes alternating current and magnetism in shockwaves alternating at thousands of times per second?




Electron path between two sand grains.


That is what also created the iron filled sandstone joints and Moqui Marbles in Big Spencer Flat.